Week 3 - Additional Reading

Part two of the readings this week in the Journalism Theory and Practice text book was on chapter two "Making Journalism Work". Comfort or Curse?, by Lynette Sheridan Burns. There are several perceptions of journalists and their role in society. Various practitioners define the view of the role of a journalist in the readings. White takes a broad approach and out look of the role of journalists. She acknowledges the significant role of the media as a political watchdog in Western countries. White believes there has always been a thread of entertainment in journalism. Which then takes us to another level as we look at journalists being that of entertainers. We know that journalists inform and engage us as readers/ viewers. Rupert Murdoch in particular is a highly successful entertainer in his global making of the newspapers and his share holdings. It is important for a journalist to want to reach its audience and convey journalism as a theory. Increasing reliance on market research has diminished the traditional role of 'professional' journalist. This leads to theorists like McManus (1994) describing a market driven journalism, as opposed to traditional journalism.

McManus describes journalism as seldom -cost effective because it can be time consuming and very expensive and it offers a return that is hard to quantify. Journalists are less independent in their research than ever before due to fewer staff and earlier production deadlines. Paletz and Entman (1982) interestingly reached a similar conclusion based on the primary fact that journalists work in bureaucratic organisations characterised by hierarchy, division of labor and routinisation of working procedures.

Newsroom influences such as deadlines, space, and staffing place heavy constraints on those journalists responsible for news selection. Journalists themselves i believe try their best to exercise their power to define what a journalist is. As a journalist you must hone your news sense. Stuart Hall portrays his view point that western journalists are not controlled in the conventional sense. The position from which journalists observe the 'facts' unfold determines the presentation of the 'truth'.

A journalist is a fearless seeker of the truth, they are powerful and media savvy. With determination, a good eye for a good angle, the newsroom culture can indeed work to a journalists advantage. The bottom line is that sound journalism will dissapear if if journalists give up and declare themselves 'agents for others'.Journalists who rise to the challenge and explore the world, tell all and have a sense of what they learn will inturn find they have the strength and innitiative of what they do as a journalist and who they are in the world. let yourself decide what is a journalist and there role in society.